Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s ‘baddie’ wife steals the spotlight at SONA – Pictures

Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s wife, Humile Mjongile stole the spotlight on the red carpet of the State of The Nation Address.

South Africa’s second lady was dressed to impress for one of her rare public appearances with her husband.

Paul and Humile – who have a 24-year age gap – wed last year after both their partners died in 2020.

While many guests of SONA opted for modest wear, Paul Mashatile’s wife, Humile Mjongile, worked the red carpet wearing a fitted pink gown that showed off her slim physique.

“Paul Mashatile got a real baddie,” posted one tweep. Another called the businesswoman “gorgeous”.

In 2020, Paul Mashatile’s wife, Manzi Ellen Mashatile, died in July 2020 after contracting Covid-19.

His now-wife’s late husband, former ANC Western Cape secretary Songezo Mjongile, died just three months later after a battle with colon cancer. At the time, Paul was the treasurer of the ANC.

Interestingly, Paul and Songezo were both ANC colleagues and friends, and the former even delivered a eulogy at his pal’s funeral.

It’s unclear when the couple began dating, although reports state that they attended the wedding of Tokyo Sexwhale and Nataxa Da Silva in 2022 together.

Paul has four children with his late wife, while Humile has two from her marriage to Songezo.

The couple’s nuptials occurred just days after Paul was sworn in as SA’s new deputy president.

Paul Mashatile: We want to study the report

The ANC says it wants to study the independent panel report into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm theft.

The report found there’s prima facie evidence that the President may have violated his oath of office.

Treasurer-General, Paul Mashatile, says once the NWC has processed the report, they will convene an NEC before 6 December.

ANC’s Paul Mashatile: Western Cape remains the last bastion of apartheid

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The Western Cape remains the last bastion of apartheid in South Africa.

That’s according to ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile, who was speaking during the party’s election manifesto launch on Saturday in Cape Town ahead of the 1 November municipal polls.

Mashatile slammed the DA-led provincial government, saying it was choosing to take the path of inequality and exclusion while the province’s majority is languishing in poverty.

He called on ANC members in the province to make sure that the Western Cape, the only province not under the control of the governing party, “becomes once more the home of the ANC” and progressive politics.

“This responsibility is based on the fact that the Western Cape remains the last bastion of apartheid as experienced by the vast majority of our people.

“This responsibility is based on the fact that despite the Western Cape government and the local government structures in this province receiving funding from the ANC-led national government for poverty reduction programmes, our people in this province remain in dire poverty,” Mashatile said.

He said only the ANC could turn local government around in the province’s municipalities if it’s elected into power.

“On 1 November, the people of South Africa and the people of the Western Cape will have an opportunity to choose once more for themselves the path which they want to be led.

“We have to make sure that in their numbers they will vote for the ANC and chose the path of unity, hard work, renewal, development, inclusivity, and prosperity,” he said.

Mashatile called on ANC members to get voters behind the party’s election message of building better communities. He said the Western Cape was lagging behind when it came to the country’s socio-economic transformation.

“To us, this election is a chance for comrades here in the Western Cape to turn local government around so that it can become once more an effective instrument of our goal of building a better life for all South Africans and not just a privileged few as its currently the experience in this province.

“It is an opportunity to rebuild, renew [and] have an effective local government that puts people first,” Mashatile said.

Paul Mashatile could be in trouble

ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile could soon find himself on the wrong side of the law, following his daring and illegal gesture of handing out money to woo the support of church congregants in Limpopo during campaigning for the party’s upcoming local government elections, according to experts.

ANC Treasurer, Paul Mashatile handing out money to congregants in Limpopo, where he is doing door-to-door campaign. ANC staffs have not been paid for at least three months now via @PelaneM #Election2021 #ANCLGE2021 pic.twitter.com/Exz2nieajW

— Mpho Maṱhoho (@MaxMpho) September 26, 2021

This against the background of a financially bankrupt ANC, which has for months been unable to pay staff.

Opposition political parties have called on the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) to act on the Mashatile video, showing him handing out money to Limpopo congregants, which circulated widely on social media.

Said Congress of the People (Cope) national spokesperson Dennis Bloem: “The IEC must urgently look into the matter, because if they don’t act, tomorrow another party will do the same with impunity.

“This is not the first for the ANC.

“In past elections, we have seen the now suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule giving money to a potential voter after being shown an empty fridge during a door-to-door campaign.

“The IEC can’t say they are unaware of the incident, which has also been covered extensively over the weekend by national television – a sign of desperation by the ANC.

“Cope will discuss the matter with the head of its elections and legal department on the next course of action. But the IEC should not wait for legal action by opposition parties.”

The IEC was not available for comment.

Accountability Now director advocate Paul Hoffman said the Mashatile incident in Limpopo was an illegal act, punishable by law.

“This action is against a free and fair election.

“If people are being paid or bribed to support a particular party, it is in contravention of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004.

“The IEC has a duty to bring to the attention of the prosecuting authorities any information that comes its way in relation to this kind of activity in contravention of the electoral system – the party is preventing people voting with their stomachs instead of their brains.”

Paul Mashatile explains why he was allegedly dishing out cash in a church ? pic.twitter.com/MUrBe6eZYz

— Motshoane Mabena (@MotshoaneMabena) September 26, 2021

Independent political analyst Dr Ralph Mathekga said the ANC had to explain its actions of “demeaning of voters and taking advantage of socio-economic conditions of communities”.

Institute for Global Dialogue political analyst Sanusha Naidu said: “The actions of the ANC treasurer-general is something that the IEC has to think about and act on.

“The problem here lies in all styles of election campaigning – it no longer sustainable for the party.

“While you cannot pay salaries to your staff, you are dishing out monies to church congregants in Limpopo – it cannot be business as usual.

“The ANC – because of the new laws – has to change its election strategy, reinvent itself and come up with a new modus operandi on how it campaigns.

“This is just not on, because it undermines and contradicts what the president has been saying in his walkabouts.

“The ANC is grappling with problems and grasping at straws to remain relevant and be a serious contender in these elections.”